SPOKANE — Locals will soon be seeing two new K-9 officers out on the streets, as the Moses Lake Police Department and Grant County Sheriff’s Office each had a K-9/handler team graduate from K-9 patrol school last night.

Graduating from the Spokane-based K-9 training academy were Deputy Nicholas Overland and K-9 Chewbacca and Moses Lake Police Department Officer Nicholas Stewart and K-9 Chief. The two teams, along with fellow graduating dog/handler pairs from Republic, Yakima County and Spokane, completed a 400-hour, 10-week long basic K-9 school.

Chewbacca will be joining a team at the Grant County Sheriff’s Office that currently has three other patrol K-9 teams, which includes K-9 deputies Edo, Chicka and Grizzly. K-9 Chief is joining a brand new K-9 unit at the MLPD, which worked with community members and businesses to raise the necessary funds to start the program.

The GCSO was the forerunner in our area when it comes to instituting a K-9 program. The sheriff’s office has been continually raising funds to support its growing unit, which has seen immense success since it began and has been an asset in policing, as well as community outreach. The two new teams are expected to start work in the near future.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.